GAME REPORT

Ural Great's difficult start to the season continued tonight at home against Nahariya. Perm lost their FEL opener to German club Braunschweig and fared no better at home against Israeli outfit Nahariya.

Ural Great's Evgeniy Kurilov had 17 points

The 2 sides met in last season's play-offs and it was Ural Great's home strength which was them took the series 2-1. This time around the home court advantage appeared to be a non-factor as Nahariya emerged with an away victory.

Nahariya's intentions were clear from the opening tip and thanks to 12 first quarter points from Yosef Dadon, they took a 20-26 lead after 10 minutes.

Backed by 6,500 fans, Perm were always going to make Nahariya work for any advantage and they worked their way back into the game. The third quarter proved to be the decisive period and in the first five minutes, Nahariya outscored their opponents 18-5.

Ural Great had one fightback left in them and clawed their way back to a 60-61 scoreline. But an injury to Slovenian forward Jurica Golemac and several key turnovers ended their chances.

Nahariya's victory was due in no small part to forward Dadon. He played a literally perfect game, scoring 22 points on 100% shooting from the floor (9/9 including 3/3 three-pointers). He was ably assisted by Barak Peleg who chipped in 17 points and 8 rebounds.

COACH QUOTES

"First of all I am happy that we won this game, though I do not think that we played well. Our team has a lot of problems just like Ural Great is having, but we were lucky to catch Ural Great in this period and win in Perm. I think that this victory will serve as a good continuation for us in the competition."

Yosef Dadon, Guard for Strauss Iscar Nahariya:

"I am also glad we won against Ural Great in Perm. The game was very hard. There were several moments when it became very close, when the host team cut into our lead and we had to build it up again. I am happy that at the end we won the game by ten points and I think it is a good achievement."

Sergei Belov, Head coach of Ural Great Perm:

"The main problem of Ural Great is that the players who joined us this year do not understand what Perm basketball and Ural Great are about. In my opinion, it is very important to unite as one and think and fight together to achieve one goal. A terrible beginning to the third quarter decided the result of the game for us. We did not play defense at all and allowed them so many easy baskets. After so many losses our team appears to be in a very difficult mental/psychological state, and now self-motivation and willing to fight become crucial for us."

Evgeniy Kurilov, Guard for Ural Great Perm:

"I am very disappointed that today we lost our fourth game in a row. We tried to shoot three-pointers and missed too many times. Our coaches tried to motivate us for this game but it seems that we still cannot find a way to come together as a unit. We make too many mistakes both in offense and defense so there is a lot for us to improve upon."